Tsunami ship to be scrapped in Japan

A Japanese town has decided to scrap a ship that was swept inland by the 2011 tsunami and has since become a landmark of the devastating phenomenon.

Residents of Kesennuma in Miyagi gathered in the town's prefecture last week to vote on whether or not they wanted to preserve the ship. Seventy percent of the residents voted they wanted to destroy the Kyotoku Maru No. 18 in spite of previous plans to preserve it as a monument.

More than 18,000 people resulted dead or missing from Japan's March 11, 2011 tsunami. The magnitude 9.0 quake struck about 250 miles northeast of Tokyo.

Kesennuma, a town of 70,000, was one of the hardest hit by the tsunami.

Following the disaster people began visiting the marooned ship to pray, take pictures and honor the dead with flowers.